Seven Years at Hogwarts
by KrustyB
Summary: A MWPP fic that follows the crazy adventures of those four Gryffindor boys; humor, drama, and lots of romance in the later years. :)
1. Going to Hogwarts

**_Seven Years at Hogwarts_**

            A/N – Hey everybody that's reading my story.  I just wanted to drop a quick note and say thanks for reading my story, it basically follows MWPP through Hogwarts, so, if I finish, who knows how long it'll be.  Also, I'm not British, won't even try to pretend I am, so we'll just leave that as that.  Also, I really do appreciate everyone that takes time to read my stories, this is my first MWPP fic, so reviews mean a lot to me.  If you read this story, please tell me what you think.  If it stinks, tell me why.  I don't want to write a story that stinks. Also, the first chapter is a bit slow, but it'll pick up, I promise.  This is just setting up the story, there will be some good pranks later. That's it, let me know if you like it, don't like it, if you like cheese, what kind, etc.  I hope you enjoy the story. J

Disclaimer – This all belongs to lucky, lucky J.K. Rowling, not me. I don't want to be sued. 

The steam filling the air , and the excitement of the students getting onto the Hogwarts Express washed over a small boy named James Potter as he stepped through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ . He smiled up at his parents who walked through right behind him. 

            "Alright, James, let's get your luggage taken care of."  His father said as he steered their way through the crowd. 

            "James, do try and fix your hair." His mother said while trying, in vain, to straighten his always untidy, black hair.  

            James was a scrawny boy, although he worked hard to build what he called "Quidditch muscles".  He was also short for his age, but he believed he would grow to his father's height of 6'2".  He watched in wonder at all of the students boarding the train and excitement started to churn in his stomach.  But something else was there too, was it nervousness?  James's smile faltered a bit as he remembered that he didn't know anyone else going to Hogwarts.

            _'Who am I going to sit by on the train?' he wondered to himself.  All too soon he was having to find out for himself, as his parents gave him a final hug goodbye, and he turned to board the train.  He wandered slowly down the aisle, looking into the compartments, hoping to find an empty one.  But luck wasn't with him, and he found all to be occupied.  The small boy sighed and turned back to find one that he could possibly share.  The last one had four girls in there laughing loudly, so he quickly moved on.  He then came across one that had only one occupant:  a boy that looked to be about his age with his nose buried in a book.  James slid the door open and poked his head through. _

            "Excuse me." James said a little quietly.  The boy's head jerked up and he stared at James. 

            "Yes?" He asked slowly.

            "Do you mind, if, uh, I could sit, in, uh, here?" James stuttered, and he mentally kicked himself for sounding so stupid.  But to his relief, the boy smiled.

            "Sure! Have a seat.  I'm Sirius Black."  He held his hand out to James, who shook it and sat across from him. 

            "James Potter, nice to meet you."

            "Likewise, first year?" Sirius asked. James smiled and nodded.  He felt himself relaxing, knowing that he wasn't all by himself anymore.

            "Me too. I'm a bit nervous, because, well, you're the first person that I've met so far."  Sirius explained, and James started to talk about how he didn't know anyone either.  The train ride turned into a pleasant one as James and Sirius talked about everything the other liked.  They learned a great deal about each other, but one thing that they discovered they had the most in common with was pulling pranks.  They told different, and very amusing, stories about the pranks they had done.

            "I can't wait till we learn some good spells." James said just before the train started to slow down. 

            "Uh oh, we're here." Sirius said.  

            "Maybe that's what the teachers should be saying about us." James said, and they started to laugh, remembering the list of ideas for pranks that they had already made. 

            They stepped off the train and looked around. The large mass of students getting off the train were heading towards large carriages.

            "Are we supposed to follow them?" Sirius asked.

            "I guess."  James shrugged his shoulders, but before they could take a step, a loud voice was heard, booming, "Firs' years! This way!"  James and Sirius turned and saw a huge, and very hairy, man calling for all of the first years to follow him.  Both of the boys' jaws dropped at the size of the man, and they were somewhat reluctant to walk over to him.  

            Once all of the first year students were gathered together, the enormous man introduced himself as Hagrid, the ground keeper at Hogwarts.  He seemed very nice, but the two boys still kept their distance.  Hagrid led them down a very dark, narrow path to a lake.  He was pointing to boats that were lined up on the shore, but Sirius and James didn't notice any boats, they were staring in wonder at the castle that was Hogwarts. 

            "Wow.." Sirius breathed in wonder. James just nodded, but their attention was soon switched to the boat that they were getting into.  There were two other boys in the boat with them, one introduced himself as Jeffery, and the other was Wes.  They rode in wonder, their eyes glued on the castle.  Sirius needed up hitting his head on a cliff that they went under.  He was rubbing his head as they got out of the boats.  

            Hagrid led them to the castle doors and knocked.  The door opened to reveal a tall witch, with black hair pulled into a tight bun.  She had a stern look upon her face, and James involuntarily shrunk as her gaze passed over him.  

            "Firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid announced happily.  The witch nodded and told the students to follow her.  They were led through a vast entrance hall and to a door that led into a noisy room.  

            "If I could have your attention, please.  We are about ready to begin the Sorting Ceremony.  You all will be sorted into different houses, each will become your home and family.  There are four houses, Gryffindor,"  James took a deep breath, his whole family had been sorted into Gryffindor, and he was hoping to be that house as well. "Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."  Professor McGonagall finished.  The students looked at one another, whispering about which house they wanted to be in.  Professor McGonagall waited for the whispering to stop before she led them into the Great Hall.  The Great Hall was filled with all of the other students and teachers.  There were five tables, one for each house, and one for the staff.  Professor McGonagall led them to the front of the Great Hall, where a stool sat with a very old hat perched on top of it.  

            To James, Sirius, and all other first year's astonishment, the hat tore at the brim and began to sing.  It sang a song about all of the houses, their differences, and who belonged into which.  At the end of the song, every clapped, and Professor McGonagall called the first person to be sorted.  James felt his heart beating in his throat, but Sirius felt that his dropped to his toes, because, in no time, his name was called.  He took a deep breath and walked up the step to the stool.  He sat carefully, and the hat was placed on his head.  It slid over his eyes, and a voice seemed to be talking in his ear.  Looking at all of his qualities very carefully before declaring him a Gryffindor.  He smiled wide as the hat was lifted off of his head.  He gave an encouraging thumbs up to James before he took a seat at the Gryffindor table.  

            James soon began to wish that his last name didn't start with a 'P', because the longer he stood there, the more nervous he became.  He watched as the only other two boys that he knew, Jeffery and Wes, were sorted into Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.  

            "Potter, James"  Professor McGonagall announced, and James's heart began pounding in his ears. His feet seemed to become heavier as he walked up the steps to the stool.  He finally made the trip, and he slowly sat down.  The hat was placed on his head and it too fell over his eyes.  He sat there, heart pounding, as he listened to the hat mumble in his ear.  

            "Ah yes, I have it now.. GRYFFINDOR!"  The hat declared, and James almost fell off of the stool.  His face broke into a great smile, and he nearly ran down to the Gryffindor table.  He was hoping to sit by Sirius, but another boy had already sat there.  He was another first year with light brown hair, and he introduced himself as Remus Lupin. 

            "James Potter, nice to meet you."  James said as he shook his hand.  Soon the Sorting Ceremony was over, and Professor Dumbledore stood to his feet. He welcomed the students, gave a few first year warnings, and then suddenly the food appeared on the table.  Nothing held Sirius, Remus, and James back as they started to eat. Soon, Sirius and James had a lively conversation started with Remus about dungbombs, and their hopeful plans for them.  When the feast was over, the three new friends happily followed one of the Gryffindor prefects up the staircases, down the halls to a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.  The three boys exchanged puzzled glances to each other before the fat lady asked, "Password?" 

            "Servite Domino" the prefect stated loudly and clearly so all could hear.  The portrait swung open and the small crowd filtered into the Gryffindor Common Room.  They all looked around in wonder as the prefect told them where their dorms were.  The three boys decided to go ahead and see what their rooms look like.  They walked up the staircase till they reached the door labeled "First Year Boys".  They walked inside and found their room.  It was a large room with five large beds.  Sirius ran in and jumped on the bed closest to the window.  

            "This one's mine!" He shouted as he sprawled out over the bed.  James took the one that was next to Sirius's and was the farthest to the left.  Remus claimed the one on the other side of Sirius's and sat down.  The door then opened and a small, fat, blonde boy shyly walked in.  He stopped in the doorway and just stared at the other boys. 

            "Hi!" Sirius said, jumping up to greet the boy. "I'm Sirius Black, that's James Potter, and that's Remus Lupin."  He said, pointing at the other two boys.  He then took the small boy's hand and started to shake it vigorously.  "Nice you meet you!"  The other boy looked rather uncomfortable, and he quickly pulled his hand from Sirius's. 

            "Uh, I'm Peter Pettigrew. It's, uh, nice to meet you." He said very quietly, and he quickly headed for the bed farthest from the other three.  Sirius shot a quick look to James and Remus before shrugging his shoulders.  

            "Hey Peter," James said, speaking to Peter for the first time. The other boy looked up nervously. "Why don't you sleep here?"  He asked pointing at the bed next to Remus. 

            "Oh, I, uh, I don't know.." Peter stumbled over his words, and he quickly looked down. 

            "It's alright, I don't bite." Remus said in a quiet, strange voice.  The others didn't seem to notice, though, and with some more coaxing, Peter sat on the bed next to Remus's, and he started to talk to the other boys.  Although he did more listening than actual talking.  The fifth member of their dorm came in and introduced himself as Sean.  He talked with the others for a minute before laying down and falling asleep.  After another hour or so, the other four boys followed suit and went to sleep.   


	2. Making a New Friend

A/N:  Alright, second chapter already, I'm a roll... The story is starting to pick up more, so I hope everybody likes it.  Please review if you do read, I love reviews!  Many thanks to Ciria for reviewing so far. : ) 

Disclaimer:  Again, I'm just writing a fan fic here, this is all JKR's. (Can I make this apply to all the chapters so I don't have to keep typing this?)      

            ~~~*~~~~

The next morning, Remus was wakened by a pillow that was brought unmercifully down on his face.  He sat straight up in his bed, trying in vain to see his attacker.

            "He's alive!" he heard Sirius shout.  He rubbed his eyes to help them focus, and when he opened them he say James and Sirius, dressed already in their school robes, laughing.  He spotted the pillow in James's hand, and he reached behind him and chucked his own pillow at James's head.  Sirius started laughing harder as James stumbled backward.

            "He's more than alive, he's vicious!"  James said, straightening his glasses that were knocked askew.

            "Revenge is sweet." Remus grinned as he stretched and got out of bed.

            "Yeah, well, so is breakfast, which just started." Sirius said, looking at his watch.

            "What?" Remus shouted as he ran to the bathroom, leaving a laughing James and Sirius behind. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            James and Sirius waited for Remus in the Common Room, and while they were there, they began to look at the room more closely.  After a few minutes they sat down on different, over-stuffed chairs.  

            "This is a really nice place."  Sirius commented.  

            "Yeah, these chairs are really comfortable." James said as he stretched and lazily sprawled out over the chair. But a minute or two later, footsteps we heard thundering down the stairs, and a flushed Remus came into view. 

            "Ok, ready."  He said almost in a pant.  Sirius laughed and stood up, but James continued to sit in the chair.  

            "You coming?" Sirius asked, looking down on the small boy. 

            "Too comfortable.. can't get up.." James mumbled, closing his eyes. Sirius looked at Remus and raised an eyebrow. Then both of the boys reached down and pulled James up.  The smaller boy whimpered in reply and held an outstretched arm out to the chair as he was pulled away. 

            "I'll come back, I promise!" he called before being pulled through the portrait hole. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The three boys got a little confused as they tried to find the Great Hall, but the smell of food was all they needed to guide them.  They finally walked into the Great Hall and walked over to the Gryffindor table.  There, they spotted the plump, short boy named Peter sitting by himself.  Sirius elbowed James and Remus, and pointed at Peter. They nodded in reply before making their way to sit by him. 

            "Hey Peter!" James greeted the shy boy as he sat down across from him.  Remus and Sirius sat on either side of the now startled boy before piling food onto their plates. 

            "Good morning Peter."

            "Hi Peter."  

            Peter looked at the three boys with wide eyes, and he mumbled a barely audible reply.  James looked at the other two boys, who just shrugged their shoulders.  

            "So, uh, Peter," James began, searching for something to say.  He looked at Sirius, who was just as curious as to what he was going to say as James was.  He looked back to Peter who was now looking at James, waiting for him to finish. 

            "Uh, what, er, classes are you interested in?" James finally finished.  Sirius smiled and turned to Peter. 

            "Yeah, what are you looking forward to?" Sirius added.  Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  

            "Um, I really don't know.  I'm not very good at much." He said, getting quieter as he spoke so that the three boys had to lean in to catch his words. 

            "Oh, well, that's alright. Neither am I." James said with a smile to help reassure the quiet boy.

            ~~~~*~~~~

            James quickly proved that statement as false in their first class, Transfiguration.  The three boys sat next to Peter, who was once again sitting by himself.  The teacher was Professor McGonagall, and before she started teaching, she gave a lecture over the way one was to act in her class. At the end of her lecture and before she started her lesson, Sirius looked over at James and shot him an evil grin, which James returned. 

            After a long period of taking notes over the lesson, Professor McGonagall passed out matches to everyone in the class and told them to transfigure it into a needle.  After looking over his notes very carefully, James picked up his wand and studied the match very carefully.  Sirius was making very good progress on his match, which became pointed at the end.  Remus's match still looked like a match, but his had changed into silver.  Peter looked in dismay at the half-match, half-needles next to him before looking again at his match that, despite much effort, remained a match. After studying his match for a few minutes, James finally pointed his wand and said the spell. 

            "Mr. Potter! How is your match?"  Professor McGonagall said after she noticed that Sirius and James were laughing about something. 

            "Professor, I don't know what you're talking about." James replied, the smile still on his face, as she made her way over to him. 

            "What do you mean, Potter?" She asked just as she got to his table. 

            "Well, I don't have a match." James replied, holding up a needle. Professor McGonagall took the needle from him and looked it over.  It was a perfect needle, and she probably would have smiled if he hadn't been joking around with Sirius. 

            "Very good, Potter. Five points to Gryffindor.  Mr. Black, please continue working."  She said and started to return to her desk, but Sirius caught her attention, and she turned to see him holding up and equally perfect needle. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            "That was cool how we got 10 points on the first day." Sirius said to James as the boys returned to the Gryffindor Common Room. 

            "Yeah, did you see her face? You could tell that she didn't think we had done anything." James said as they reached the portrait hole. Sirius stated the password and they walked in.  

            "I almost got it, but my needle would still light."  Remus said, and the other two laughed.  Behind them walked Peter, who had made no difference in his match at all.  The boy felt embarrassed that he was sitting next to the smartest kids in class; they made him feel so stupid.  His embarrassment changed to anger when he remembered how they had sat next to him in the first place.  Peter left the other three boys, who decided to lounge in the Common Room, and he went up the stairs.  

            "Where's Peter going?" James asked as he settled himself in his new, favorite chair. Sirius shrugged his shoulders and checked his watch.

            "We have 10 minutes to our next lesson; do you think we should go ahead and go?" He asked, and Remus nodded. 

            "Yeah, we probably shouldn't have come back here."  Remus said and stood up. 

            "Yeah, why did you want to come back here anyway?  James?" Sirius asked James who was beginning to fall asleep in the chair.  Sirius sighed and looked at Remus, who shook his head. 

            "Not again." 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The three boys made their way to the next class which happened to be Charms.  It was when they got there, right on time, that they realized that Peter wasn't there.  

            "Peter, where'd he go?" Sirius asked, looking around. 

            "He probably left right behind us, don't worry." James reassured him.  The three boys sat next to each other, leaving a spot for the other boy.  They began to grow uneasy when Professor Flitwick started to call roll, but they forgot once they started work on a basic charm.  James wasn't as good at Charms as Transfiguration, but he was still very good.  Sirius was in his element, though, and he enjoyed it.  Professor Flitwick was very pleased, overall, with the three boys, as Remus did very well also. 

            As they left the class, they ran to the Gryffindor tower to see if Peter was still there.  They didn't see him in the Common Room, so they ran up to their dorm, where they found him lying on his bed. 

            "Peter! You missed Charms!" James shouted, and the small boy jumped up.

            "What!" he cried in dismay as the other boys nodded their heads. 

            "Did you forget?" Sirius asked.  Peter, instead, didn't answer.  He was staring, as if in shock, at his schedule. 

            "I don't believe this." He said to himself. 

            "Well, we have Potions in a few minutes, we better go." James said and started to leave.  Remus and Sirius followed behind him, but Peter stayed staring at his schedule.  Then he looked up and glared at the spot where the three boys had stood.  

            _'Why didn't they come and get me? They probably left me here on purpose.'  Peter thought as he finally left the room and made his way to the dungeons. _

            The boys were a little early to Potions, and they ended up waiting outside the door with the other students.  It seemed that they were having Potions with the Slytherins, James noticed, as a large group of Slytherin first years approached.  Peter also showed up a minute later, and he kept a fair distance away from the other three boys. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even hear what anyone was saying, but he was quickly brought back to what was going on when someone pushed him, rather hard, and made him fall over. He looked up to see a group of Slytherin boys laughing at him.  His face reddened in embarrassment, and he started to get up.  But he didn't have to bother, because he was lifted up by someone, and when he looked up he saw Sirius helping him up, and Remus was picking up Peter's things for him.  Peter turned back to the Slytherin group to see James standing in front of the Slytherin boy who had pushed him.  The Slytherin boy was very pale, with greasy, black hair.  James was pointing a finger in the boy's face, who seemed to be backing down, but he was now glaring at James.  After James had finished, he walked back over to Peter, who was now steady on his feet with all his things again. 

            "You ok?" James asked quietly.  Peter nodded, but before he could give any kind of thanks, a tall, and thin, woman, wearing deep blue robes walked up and opened the door. 

            "Everybody in, sorry for being late." 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Potions wasn't a favorite for James, Sirius, or Remus, but it wasn't too bad.  Professor Rosse was the Potions teacher, and she seemed to teach well enough, but she had a bad habit of getting sidetracked rather easily.  She forgot to assign any homework, which was lucky for the three boys, because Professor McGonagall has assigned a rather weighty assignment for their first day.  

            The three boys were working on that very assignment at dinner when Peter approached them.  James looked up and noticed him.

            "Hi Peter!" He said. Sirius and Remus raised their heads from the parchment they were currently writing on to greet Peter as well. 

            "Um, hi, uh.." The small boy started.  

            "Do you want to sit down?" Remus suggested, and Peter quickly sat. 

            "I just wanted to thank you all.." Peter said rather quietly. James looked at Sirius and Remus who were smiling. 

            "It was no trouble Peter, if you have any problems, any at all, you just come to us. Alright?" James said, and Peter nodded his head, smiling a bit.  

            "Yeah, we'll take care of you." Sirius added with a smile.  

            It was then that Peter finally let his guard down and started to talk to the other boys.  Any anger he had felt towards them earlier was gone, and, for the first time since being at Hogwarts, he felt safe and comfortable. 


	3. Sickness

            A/N:  This chapter was a bit harder to write, but I hope it sounds all right. Ciria – thanks for your reviews!  Silver does harm werewolves, but I believe that it does only if they touch it. Remus does well in Transfiguration, but not as well as James and Sirius. Out of the group, James is the best at it, and Sirius is the best in Charms (so far). : )  Sirius is one of my favorites, so he'll be pretty active in this story, but I'd like to cover all the characters evenly (well, maybe not Peter..).  Lily will show up, but at the rate I'm going at that's a good ways away.  

~~~~*~~~~

Remus sat in the library working on an essay for Transfiguration.  It had been three weeks since he first came to Hogwarts, and the full moon was now four days away.  Remus was dreading this moment ever since he had received his acceptance letter, and now he had to think of an excuse to tell his new friends.  He had played with the idea of telling them that he was a werewolf, but then he would quickly remind himself that they had known each other for just three weeks, nearly not long enough for them to accept him. 

            _'Would they ever accept me?' Remus constantly wondered to himself.  He lifted his head and looked out of a nearby window, watching the sun set.  He returned his gaze to his essay and decided to stop for the night.  Slowly standing to his feet, he gathered his things and looked once more out of the window to see the newly planted Whomping Willow.  Sadness crept into his heart, which in turn was replaced by fear.  He would be going through the tunnel underneath the tree in four days for the first time.  Dumbledore told him how it was set up, but Remus was still apprehensive.  But what weighed on his mind more than that was the lie he was going to have to tell his friends to cover up his absence.  _

            Remus sighed and left the library, heading back toward the Gryffindor Common Room.  After saying the password and going through the portrait hole, he spotted his friends lounging in the Common Room.  Peter, like Remus, was working on his essay, James was playing Sean, the fifth boy that shared their dorm, at chess, and Sirius was reading by the fireplace. James looked up when Remus walked in and waved. 

            "Hey Remus! Want to play after I beat Sean?" He asked, laughing.  Sean just mumbled something about how James cheated, before making his final move and which brought about the end of the game.

            "No thanks, I'm pretty tired." Remus said before retreating up the stairs.  Sirius raised his head from his book and looked at James.

            "Tired?  But it's just eight thirty." Sirius said, puzzled that anyone could go to bed so early. James seemed just as perplexed about it, but he just shrugged his shoulders. 

            "To much homework, I guess."

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Classes went on as usual, but Remus seemed to be getting sick, and one night, in the Gryffindor Common Room, Sirius made a suggestion to him. 

            "Hey Remus, maybe you should go to the hospital wing."  Remus looked at Sirius from the table, where he was finishing his essay. He almost smiled, but he held it back. This was a perfect excuse for him to use to get away for the full moon.  He knew that he couldn't always use it, but it was perfect, especially since Sirius had brought it up. 

            "Yeah, I may go in tomorrow after class." Remus said and returned to work on his homework.  After a few more minutes, though, his weariness caught up with him, and he went to bed.  Sirius waited a moment after Remus left before he looked at James, who was working on Potions homework. 

            "Well, that's good then." Sirius said, and James's head popped up.

            "What is?" James asked. 

            "I'm glad he's going to the hospital wing, he's starting to look really ill." Sirius explained, and James nodded.

            "Yeah, I hope it's not anything bad."  James said, and Sirius shook his head.

            "Nah, Remus is tough." 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Remus left dinner early the next day, and he went up to his room in Gryffindor Tower.  He opened his trunk and pulled out some old clothes that were covered in stitches and patches.  He then made his way down to the hospital wing, and, when he arrived, he found Madam Pomfrey waiting for him. 

            "There you are, Mister Lupin, are you ready?" She asked in a very kind voice, and Remus could hear underlying tones of worry. He nodded his head and followed her out of the hospital wing.  They walked across the grounds of Hogwarts quickly, and Remus looked sadly up at the sunset.  Soon, they were at the Whomping Willow, and Madam Pomfrey picked up a stick that was lying nearby, and she prodded the knot on the tree.  The tree froze its branches that were beginning to lash out at them.  

            "Quickly now." She said and headed toward the tunnel.  Remus followed her down into the tunnel, and he found it odd to see the young nurse going through the tunnel like that.  They walked on for a good distance, and Remus was wondering if they would get there before nightfall.  They finally arrived at the Shrieking Shack, and Remus looked around the place for the first time.  It looked like a house, it was sparsely furnished, and the windows were boarded up.  

            "Madam Pomfrey," Remus started, turning towards the nurse, "will people be able to hear me?"  

            "Yes, dear, there are charms to protect people from this place, but there are no silencing charms."  She said, and Remus opened his eyes in shock.

            "But people will know if they hear me!" He shouted, but Madam Pomfrey held up her hand to quiet him.

            "Dumbledore has made it known that he has put some violent ghosts in here to keep people away and to explain the noises.  He wants the people of Hogsmeade to think this house is haunted."  

            "Hogsmede?  We're in Hogsmeade?" Remus asked, and Madam Pomfrey nodded her head.

            "Now, Mister Lupin, the moon is about to rise." She said, and Remus nodded before going into a nearby bathroom to change his clothes.  Once finished, he emerged from the bathroom, and he handed his clothes and school robes to the nurse. 

            "You better go." He said quietly, and Madam Pomfrey looked on him with concern. 

            "You'll be alright?"  She asked gently, and he nodded.  "I'll come and get you at sunrise, Mister Lupin."  She said before leaving the Shrieking Shack.  

            Remus watched her leave, and he decided to look around the place in the short time that he had before the moon would rise.  He spotted a staircase and went up the stairs.  The familiar ache was beginning to creep into his body, but he tried to ignore it, by looking in a room.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much to look at, and Remus started to think about the pain he was about to go through.  

            "I want it to be morning." He said to himself before he started to transform. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Sirius and Peter waited in the Common Room for James to finish getting ready so they could go to breakfast.  Peter was usually quiet, but he had become more comfortable with the other boys, and the other boys liked him, except for Sirius.  Sirius wasn't going to say anything, but he didn't really like the small boy.  He had wanted the boy to be their friend so he wouldn't always be alone, but now Peter was like an annoying puppy that never leaves. Sirius was always nice to him, even though there were times when Peter really annoyed Sirius. 

            Sirius was thankful to hear the sounds of descending footsteps on the stairs, and James walked into the Common Room. The three boys then made their way to the Great Hall.  When they arrived, they sat at the Gryffindor table and began to pile their plates with food. 

            "We should stop by the hospital wing after breakfast to check on Remus." James said, and the other boys nodded.  Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but a group of Slytherins stopped him. 

            "Well, well, if it isn't little Porky Peter."  Said a tall Slytherin with black hair.  Sirius and James recognized him as the one who had pushed Peter on the first day of class. 

            "And his 'friends', or the ones who pretend to be, since he has none."  He continued, the three other Slytherins who were standing behind him started to laugh.  James and Sirius stood, but Sirius was on the other side of the table from them, so James stood alone.  Although James was shorter than the other boy, he made himself a barrier between the Slytherins and Peter.  

            "Oh, pardon me, I forgot that you were his bodyguard." The Slytherin said, mockingly. 

            "Shut it, Snape!" James shouted, which caught the attention of the students sitting around them.  The Slytherin boy noticed that more Gryffindors were starting to stand, and he took a few steps back. James continued to glare at the taller boy, who smirked back. 

            "Sorry, Potter, didn't know I was bothering you. I'll leave you in peace now, I wouldn't dare want to disturb you."  Snape said and bowed before he started to walk away with the other Slytherins who were laughing.  James sat down, but Sirius took a handful of jelly and threw it at Snape, hitting him in the back of the head.  The Gryffindor table burst into laughter.  Snape spun around, eyes blazing, and Sirius gave him the same bow that he had given James before sitting down.  The Gryffindor table started to applaud Sirius, and James was about to fall on the floor, laughing.  Sirius looked up and smiled innocently at Professor McGonagall who was now standing in front of him.  She, on the other hand, did not look amused.

            "Mr. Black, if you please." She said, indicating for him to follow her. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Remus left the hospital wing that afternoon, and he stopped by all of his classes to pick up his homework.  He returned to the Gryffindor Common Room to find his friends in a deep conversation by the fire.  He walked up to them and set his stuff down on a nearby table. 

            "Remus!" Sirius said, smiling.  "Good to see you, feeling better?" 

            "A little, yeah."  Remus said, and he sat down in between Sirius and Peter.  The other boys noted that he still looked tired, exhausted in fact, but he wasn't as pale as he was before.  

            "What did Madam Pomfrey say?" James asked.

            "Just a cold," Remus said, "I get sick easily." The other boys nodded, and he relaxed. 

            "So anything happen?" Remus asked, and Sirius and James proceeded to tell him about Snape bullying Peter at breakfast. 

            "So I threw some jelly at him." 

            "Hit him square in the head!"

            "Then McGonagall walked up.."

            "You should have seen it, it was great!"

            "I got detention! Can you believe that woman?"

            "Scrubbing the Transfiguration room floor."

            "With a toothbrush!"

            "And no magic!"

            Remus laughed along with the others, sad that he had missed it, but hearing the story was just as entertaining.  

            "When do you have to do it?" Remus asked.

            "Tomorrow morning, at _seven_!" Sirius groaned, and Remus laughed.  He had never seen Sirius wake up before ten on a Saturday morning, and that was usually when he was woken up by the others.  

            "It shouldn't be so bad," James said, "at least it's not the dungeons." 

            They all laughed, even Sirius, who gave up trying to mope.  Remus now listened as they picked up their previous conversation and continued to talk about what prank they were going to pull on Snape and the Slytherins. But exhaustion soon kicked in, and Remus went to bed, leaving the others conspiring downstairs. 

~~~~*~~~~

I didn't think that this was one of my best chapters, but if you read please review and let me know what you think!  Next chapter will be a little lighter than this, and I'll pick up the pace on the time, or else their first year may end up being 40 chapters long. 


	4. Quidditch

            A/N:  I've decided to change the Potions teacher's name.  I ran across another MWPP story, and their character's name was very similar to mine, just by coincidence. So, I thought that it would just be easier to change it, since I've only mentioned it once. This chapter doesn't have as much action as the first three, but I hope it's all right.  Thanks again to Ciria and to Nev for reviewing!  Ciria – Sirius reads because he enjoys it, and his book is just a regular fiction book.  By the end of chapter three, Sirius was the only one to receive any detentions, so only one for the four, but that will change very quickly. : )

~~~~*~~~~

Months went by, and Remus's absences continued without much notice from the other boys.  They would take his brief spells of sickness as if he were just a sickly boy suffering temporarily from the winter cold.  James also caught a cold and had to spend some time in the hospital wing.  Classes were also starting to get harder, and the homework seemed to be getting heavier, which took up more of the boys' time.  But in the spare time that they still had, they thought of pranks, and they pulled off one on Snape and a couple other Slytherins a few weeks after the confrontation in the Great Hall.  

            Sirius had discovered that detentions weren't so bad, and he soon found that spending them with his friends was even better.  After Sirius's first detention, he and James, and sometimes Remus and Peter, would often find themselves in detention for many things, but mostly for pranks.  James and Sirius seemed to hold a mind made for thinking of pranks, and they were usually the ones to pull them off on an unfortunate victim.  At first they targeted people who had for some reason made them mad, or had gotten on their bad side.  This usually meant Snape and some other Slytherins, but after a while, their targets changed, and they would pull pranks on anyone.  Soon they gained a reputation, and everybody in the school made sure to check their food before they ate it, watched where they stepped, or what they were wearing. 

            James and Sirius were practically brothers, and it was rare to find one without the other.  Remus had participated in their pranks at first, but when the three boys had been assigned detention on a full moon, Remus, in a slight panic, went to Professor Dumbledore, and had the detention changed to a different night.  Ever since then, Remus would watch but not participate.  Peter always seemed to be left in the cold when it came to their fun.  He once made a mistake that could've had drastically different, and more dangerous, results than that of a simple prank.  Ever since then, he, like Remus, would watch.  

            The four boys, though, remained a group of good friends, and when one was insulted, or in trouble, the other three would be there to help or get revenge.  Peter was usually the one who was being protected the most, and he clung to the other three for protection.  Sirius eventually accepted Peter after the smaller boy finally stopped being nervous around him, but Sirius couldn't help but become annoyed at him from time to time.  

            In class, James excelled the most in Transfiguration, and he won many points for Gryffindor, but those would usually be lost later on.  Remus did the best in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he would sometimes have to help the others with their homework.  While they, in turn, would help him with his other subjects.  Sirius was the best out of the four in Charms, but he wasn't the best in the class.  The best in class was another Gryffindor named Lily Evens.  Sirius was always trying to do better than her in the class, which entertained Professor Flitwick immensely.  Sirius would always leave Charms a little put out, but he was never mean to the little, red headed, first year, but that didn't mean that she wasn't the victim of a few pranks either.  After a few weeks of their constant competition, Sirius formally met Lily one day, and they became friends.  The competition became a friendly one, and it turned into a joke between the two. 

            Quidditch practices had been going on for a few weeks, and the first match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was approaching.  The school was buzzing with excitement the morning of the match, and the four boys went to breakfast to see the Gryffindor team leaving.  They wished them luck as they passed them at the door, and the four boys sat down. 

            "This should be a good match, I've heard that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are the best teams in the school." James said, taking a bit out of his toast. 

            "I think Ravenclaw is a little better, but that doesn't mean we can't win."  Sirius said, and James frowned.

            "What do you mean 'Ravenclaw is better'? What kind of a Gryffindor are you?" James said, and Sirius chucked some eggs at him.  

            "I'm just saying that it should be a good match."  

            "That's what I said!" 

            Both of the boys got pieces of toast thrown at them, and they looked at Remus, scandalized. 

            "Traitor." James said in a hurt tone. "You sided with him."

            "No," Remus said, "I didn't side with anyone, I just want you two to shut up." 

            The boys laughed and quickly finished their breakfast after seeing everyone get up and leave the Great Hall for the Qudditich pitch.  They ran down to the pitch, caught up in the excitement, Peter struggling to keep up with the other three.  They reached the stands and ran up the stairs to get a good spot.  

            "Are you going to try to get on the team next year?" James asked Sirius, who shook his head. 

            "I've always been a Beater, and both of ours are sixth years."  Sirius said, a little sadly. 

            "What about you Remus?" James asked.  Remus shrugged.

            "I don't know, probably not. I like to play Quidditch, but I don't think I'd be good enough." 

            "How about you, James?" Sirius asked, and the other boy looked at him wide eyed. 

            "Of course! One of our Chasers will be leaving this year, so I'm definitely going to try next year." James replied, enthusiastically.  James opened his mouth to say something else, but his words were drowned out by the announcer. 

            "Welcome, everybody, to the first Quidditch match this year!"  the voice of a sixth year boomed throughout the stadium.  The crowed roared in excitement, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors sporting flags for their house. The teams came out on the field, the captains shook hands, and the game began. The excitement and thrill of the game was almost intoxicating. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were both excellent teams, and the game went on for five minutes, neither team scoring. 

            The boys watched as the Gryffindor Chasers flew toward the Ravenclaw goal posts, Sarah Gooden flew in front, holding the Quaffle.  When they reached the goal posts, Sarah threw the Quaffle, and everyone held their breath. The Ravenclaw Keeper reached for the Quaffle, but he couldn't grab it, instead, his fingers brushed the side of the ball, knocking it enough off course to miss the goal.  Simultaneously, the Ravenclaws cheered, while the Gryffindors groaned. The game continued, fast paced, and hard fought.  But Sirius was right that Ravenclaw was a little better than Gryffindor, and the game ended when the Ravenclaw Seeker caught the snitch.    Although disappointed about the loss, the boys couldn't help but talk about the exciting game.

            "That had to of been the best game of Quidditch I've ever seen!" James said as they sat in the Common Room.  

            "Did you see that save that Art made? That was incredible!  I thought that they were going to score for sure." Sirius said, and the boys talked about the game for the rest of the day. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The excitement over the Qudditich match faded over the next couple days, and the Gryffindor students once again talked to the Ravenclaws.  Everything was fine with the four Gryffindor boys, until one night, they found themselves sitting alone in the Common Room, suffering from a terrible case of boredom. 

            "There's nothing to do!" James said, as he lay in his favorite chair, legs draped over one of the arms.  Sirius looked down at his book that was on the table, and he sighed.

            "I wish I hadn't finished my book." He said. 

            "Read it again." Remus suggested.  Peter was counting all of the tiles that were on the ceiling, and he had to start over when he lost his count. 

            "There's nothing to do!" James whined again.

            "Shut up, James." Remus said, who was watching the fire.  Sirius sighed and looked at one of the castle's many towers through the window. 

            "I wonder what's in that tower."  Sirius said, mostly to himself. James looked up at the window, but, at his angle, he couldn't see it. 

            "What tower?" He asked, and Sirius pointed.

            "That one."  James tried again to see it, but he gave up and slumped back into his chair.  They sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Remus started humming.  He soon received a pillow to the face, and he looked at James.

            "What?" 

            "Stop humming." James said, trying to fall asleep.

            "You could've asked." Remus mumbled, and Sirius snorted. 

            "Maybe we could think of more pranks?" Sirius offered after a few more minutes of silence. 

            "No."  Remus said, starting to close his eyes.  Sirius sighed, and he laid his head back and stared at the ceiling. 

            "I wish we could go somewhere." Peter said, quietly. 

            "Yeah." Remus agreed. James stretched and yawned, giving up on going to sleep. 

            "Then let's go somewhere."  He said, and the other three boys just looked at him.

            "Where? We're not supposed to go out." Sirius reminded James, but the other boy just shrugged.

            "So? Why should we care? It's not like we haven't broken the school rules before."  Sirius looked at Remus and Peter as if James were crazy. 

            "But James," Remus said, as if he was talking to a five year old, "Filch is out there, he'll catch us." James just grinned and got out of the chair. 

            "I'll be right back." James said and went up the stairs. The other three boys waited for what seemed to be a year, before Sirius stood up.

            "That's it, I'm tired.  He probably just went to sleep, which is what I'm going to do." He said and started to leave, but he ran into something very solid that he didn't see.  Sirius stumbled back a little, Remus and Peter giving him an odd look. 

            "Whoa, what was that?" Sirius asked, poking into what looked like thin air. 

            "It's me." They heard James say, and the small boy appeared out of nowhere in front of the other boys.  Sirius, was now poking James in the chest. James started laughing, and he sat back into his favorite chair. 

            "Sirius, you should've seen your face." James said, but Sirius was more interested in what James was now holding. 

            "You have an invisibility cloak? And you didn't tell me?" Sirius said, amazed and slightly offended.  James shrugged and tossed it to Sirius.

            "Well, we never needed it until now, did we?" James said, and Remus stood up to get a closer look at it. 

            "What do you mean, needed until now?" Remus asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. 

            "Think about it, we can go out exploring, and now get caught!" James said, standing up. "Filch won't be able to see us." 

            "I don't know, James." Peter said, eyeing the cloak.  "Will we all fit under that?" 

            "We should." James said.  Sirius held the cloak up and looked at the size. 

            "You sure? I think three could fit, but I don't know about four." Sirius said.  

            "Well, let's try it and see."  James said.  All of the boys stood up, and James took the cloak, throwing it over them.  It fit, but it was a tight fit, and when James took the cloak off, the other three looked unsure.  

            "Look, we'll manage." James said, trying to convince them. Sirius looked at the other two boys and then back at the cloak.  He saw the look on his best friend's face, and he nodded. 

            "Alright, let's give it a go." Sirius said, and James smiled wide.  

            "Remus? Peter?" Remus hesitated a moment before finally agreeing, leaving Peter left to decide.  

            "Are you sure we can fit?" He asked, cautiously. 

            "Oh come on, Pete!" James said, and the short boy finally agreed.

            "Excellent, let's go."  James threw the cloak over them, and they headed toward the portrait hole. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

The invisibility cloak has finally made its appearance. What do you guys think?  Please review and let me know! 


	5. Bunch of Stuff

AN –   Well, I've had this chapter written for a while now, but I had never gotten around to posting it.  So sorry, and shame on me.  Thanks to all who reviewed! I can't tell you how much I love them, so thank you!  Ciria – I'm sure James and Sirius pulled pranks on each other, or anyone else.  The way I read the Three Broomsticks scene in POA, it always seemed to me that James and Sirius did most of their 'adventures', or whatever you want to call them, themselves.  Remus and Peter were, obviously, a part of the group, but they didn't do as much as the other two.  Plus, when Remus mentions to Harry the number of times he saw James disappear under the cloak, again, I've always read that as Remus not taking part in things.  So, in this story, it's mainly going to be James and Sirius doing all of the crazy stuff; Remus kind of separates himself because he's a werewolf, and Peter separates himself, but I won't tell you why, yet. : )  Sirius and Peter are fairly comfortable being in each other's company by now, but that will change in a few chapters.  James couldn't see the tower because of where he was sitting, that's it. 

~~~~*~~~~

            It was difficult for the boys to get used to walking under the cloak, but they soon figured out a certain way to walk that made it go a little easier.  

            "Uh, James, where are we going?" Sirius whispered to his friend.  

            "To that tower you were looking at." James whispered back. 

            "Yeah, but how do we get there?" Sirius asked, and James stopped.  Remus, who was behind him, ran into him, causing James to stumble forward.  Sirius, who didn't know that James had stopped, kept walking, until Peter grabbed his cloak and pulled him back. This caused Sirius, who had neglected to put on shoes before they left, to slip and fall, bringing Peter down with him.  Remus was pulled down by the cloak that the two boys were still holding, and he fell into James, who was still trying to regain his balance.  James shouted out in surprise, and they hit the ground.  All four boys were now on the floor, struggling to get out from under the invisibility cloak.  James managed to get out from under it first, and he looked up to see Filch's cat, Mr. Grey, looking blankly at him.  

            "Mr. Grey, shhh, please..."  James said to the cat, but the cat let out a loud "meow".  Throwing caution out the window, James yanked the cloak off the other boys and helped them up while yelling, "Run!" 

            Sirius was the first one up, and he ran as fast as he could to Gryffindor Tower.  He reached the painting of the Fat Lady, checking behind him to see the other three boys running fast. 

            "Say the password!" Remus yelled.  Sirius turned back to the painting and groaned when he saw she was asleep.  

            "Wake up!" He yelled.  Behind him he could hear Filch's voice and running feet.  The other three boys skidded to a halt behind him, and they started shouting the password. 

            "Casus belli! Hurry up!" James yelled, and the Fat Lady swung open after finally waking up. 

            "You didn't have to be so rude about it!" She said as they rushed inside.  They slammed the door shut and collapsed in a heap on the floor. 

            "Never again." Peter said, trying to catch his breath.

            "I don't know."  James said, and the other three looked at him like he was crazy.  

            "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Remus said and stood up.  Peter also stood, and he made his way to the staircase.  

            "I'm going to go to bed now that I've been scared to death."  He said and started climbing the steps.

            "Aw, Pete, it wasn't that bad!" James said, but Peter just stopped and shook his head before continuing to climb the steps.

            "What did you think, Sirius?"  James asked his friend, who, like him, was still lying on the floor. 

            "I think we should go again. Maybe not tonight."  Sirius added after James broke into a wide smile. 

            "Yeah, we should at least plan where we're going, and, next time, please tell us when you're going to stop, James!" Remus said, and the other two laughed.  

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The next day, Filch kept staring at the four boys whenever he saw them.  As far as Filch was concerned, the boys should have been thrown out of the school, but Dumbledore maintained that, since the boys weren't caught, there was no proof of their guilt.  The boys, especially James and Sirius, found it all very amusing, and they set off a few dungbombs that Sirius had brought from home in a hallway before they went to bed.  

            That night James and Sirius started to make plans for the next time they would go out.  Peter feared that they would be caught again, and he refused to go. 

            "Remus, will you be going?" Sirius asked.  

            "When are you going?" Remus asked, and Sirius turned to James. 

            "When are we doing this?" Sirius asked and James shrugged. Sirius turned back to Remus and said, "We don't know."  Remus smirked and nodded.

            "All right, just let me know when we're going and what we're doing."  He said and returned to his homework.  

            "Excellent, so we're going to have to go on a night where we can see without a lantern or anything."  James said.

            "That means the full moon, if the weather permits."  Sirius said, and Remus's head shot up.  

            "What?" Remus nearly shouted before he could stop himself.  Sirius and James looked up at the other boy, puzzled. 

            "Didn't catch that last bit, sorry." Remus said, quickly, sliding down a bit in his seat.  

            "Oh, I just said that if it's not cloudy we'll go on the full moon.  There's more light that way, so we can see."  Sirius explained, and Remus frowned.  

            "Why can't you just light your wands?"  Remus offered, and James smacked his forehead. 

            "How could we forget that!" James exclaimed. 

            "Wow, I feel like an idiot now." Sirius said, and Remus started to laugh. 

            "Well, in that case, we can go tomorrow!"  James said and stood up.  "Now that that's taken care of, I'm off to bed." 

            "Did you do your homework already?" Remus asked, and James shrugged. 

            "Yeah, I finished it in class." He said and headed for the stairs. Remus scowled at James's retreating back, and he turned to Sirius. 

            "How could he finish this in class?" Remus pointed, frustrated, at his Transfiguration homework. 

            "What?  You didn't?" Sirius asked, and Remus groaned.  

            "No, sorry, I'm not geniuses like you two."  He said, and Sirius smirked.  

            "Well, I'm not the whiz that you are in Defense Against the Dark Arts, so don't worry." Sirius said and headed toward the staircase.  

            "G'night Remus." Sirius said, and Remus waved, mumbling about his homework. A few minutes later, which seemed like an hour to Remus, he finished his homework and went to bed. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Potions had become the four Gryffindor boys' least favorite class. It wasn't the teacher that made it unbearable, and it wasn't working with potions, it was the Slytherins that had the class with them.  One in particular, who quickly became James's enemy, was Snape.  Snape was very gifted, it seemed, when it came to potions.  He considered it an "art", and he often told Professor Rosse that.  Snape was Professor Rosse's favorite student, and she would often praise him on his work, much to the annoyance and frustration of James.  

            James did well enough in the class, and he received good marks, but Professor Rosse took no notice, as she didn't with any other student besides Snape.  Remus did well, but was mainly average in the class, but Sirius and Peter constantly struggled.  Sirius didn't seem to have what it took to make potions, and he would always complain, saying that when he would need them, he would just have someone else make them.  Peter would often get his ingredients confused, and he would constantly mess up his potion.  Professor Rosse tried to help him the first few weeks of school, but she gave up, and spent the rest of her time either helping other students, who really didn't need help, or praising Snape.  

            The next day in class, Professor Rosse decided to pair up Gryffindor students with Slytherin students.  

            "It's about time you all got to know each other better."  The thin witch said in response to the loud groan.  

            James didn't mind his partner, neither of them talked to each other, they just worked on their potion in silence.  Remus made an attempt at conversation with the Slytherin girl that was his partner, but it seemed that the girl wasn't too keen on carrying on a conversation with a Gryffindor, and they also worked in silence.  Sirius ignored his partner, and after a while he just sat back and let the Slytherin, who apparently knew what they were doing, do all the work.  Peter, unfortunately, was paired with Snape.  Remus had frowned when Professor Rosse announced this, James kept glaring at Snape, and Sirius would occasionally throw a toad liver or a rat tongue at him.  

            Snape held his tongue, and he didn't call Peter any names, mainly because Professor Rosse was always standing over him, admiring his work.  When she had left the two alone, Snape finally turned to Peter and sneered. 

            "Would you mind if I just did the work?" Snape shot at the short boy, and he took Peter's ingredients without waiting for a reply.  James was waiting for something like this to happened, and he started to open his mouth to say something, but Professor Rosse stopped him when she came to his table and stood over him.

            "Mister Potter, going well, I presume?"  She said in a cheery voice, and James put on his best smile.  

            "Yes, Professor."  He said, and Professor Rosse tested the potion on her hand to see if it would discolor her skin like it was supposed to.  The skin on her hand where she had put the drop of the potion turned a bright yellow color. 

            "Good work, Mister Potter." She said and left to go to another table.  James sat there with his mouth open.

            "Good work? That's it?" He muttered to himself, and his partner looked a little disappointed as well.  

            ~~~~*~~~~

            " 'Good work!' Can you believe that! She was practically singing Snape's praises, and she only told me 'good work'!" 

            "James, shut up." 

            The four boys walked to the Common Room after their classes, and they went up to their dorm.  Sirius fell onto his bed and lay sprawled out, staring at the ceiling.  Remus dropped his books onto his bed, and Peter sat down.  

            "James," Sirius said after a minute, "why do you care if she only told you 'good work'?" 

            "Because."  James said, as if that explained everything. 

            "Have you ever considered not striving to be the very best at everything?" Remus asked, and James shrugged. 

            "I guess it's just… My parents expect a lot from me."  James said as he sat on his bed.  Sirius sat up so he could look at James. 

            "I'm sure they're happy enough, you do really well in practically all of our classes."  Sirius said.  

            "Perhaps you should just relax, James." Remus suggested. 

            "Yeah, you do fine, you really do.  Look at me, what am I good at?  It all comes naturally to you, James."  Peter said, and James looked at the shorter boy.  James knew they were right, and he knew that he shouldn't let small things get to him, but he didn't know how to change that.  

            "Thanks, yeah, I'll try to relax." James said, managing a weak smile.  Sirius grinned and jumped out of his bed.  

            "So, about tonight." Sirius said, rubbing his hands in excitement.  James's smile widened, and he pushed the whole conversation they just had out of his mind.  

            ~~~~*~~~~

            I've got part of the next chapter already written.  Please review and tell me what you think! 


	6. A loss of a friend

   A/N –  I was really bored today, and I re-read this chapter. I couldn't believe some of the things I left out, I mean, it wasn't anything big, but the some things didn't make much sense. So I went over it and patched it up. I may do that with the other chapters, I may not, so who knows. : ) Anyway, that's it, back to the old a/n.  Thanks to everybody who reviewed!  I really, really, really appreciate it.  I can't tell you enough how much they mean to me. *sniffs* They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Ok, ok, enough of that. : ) Flyingphilosopher, thank you for your constructive criticism, I've been trying different ways to expand the characters, but I think I'll have to spend one chapter on each, which is kind of what I was planning to do in the first place. Ciria, to me, Filch is just a mean, nasty guy who has mean, nasty cats. : )  I'm sticking with the books in that James hates Snape the most, and Peter doesn't do well in anything really, but that will change, I promise.  Thanks also to Nina and Rena Lupin for your reviews!  Now, on with the story. 

~~~~*~~~~

The boys, minus Peter, continued to make their nightly trips through the castle.  They had never gotten caught, but they had many close calls, like the time when James accidentally tripped Filch.  One night, James and Sirius went out by themselves, because Remus had taken ill again, and they ended up in a hallway full of paintings.  The two boys stood looking at the different works of art from under the cloak.

            "We should come back here when Remus is feeling better; he would like to see this." Sirius said, and James nodded in agreement.  The boys had often seen Remus drawing in his spare time, and they knew that he liked art.  Sirius was now looking at a painting of a bowl of fruit, and he felt his stomach give an unpleasant twist.  

"You know, we should try and find the kitchens sometime, James.  I'm getting really hungry."  Sirius said just as his stomach gave a loud growl.  James grinned at Sirius and then jabbed him in the ribs.

            "Your stomach better get quiet, Filch may hear it."  James said, still grinning. 

            "Who cares? I'm hungry!" Sirius said, and he ran out from under the cloak to the painting of fruit.  

            "Oh, pear, if only you were real!"  Sirius said as he put his hands against the pear, hugging it.  James only shook his head and pulled the cloak off of him.  

            "Whoa!" Sirius said, and James ran over to him. 

            "What?" James asked, and he looked down at Sirius's hand which was now grasping something. Sirius just looked at James and pulled the handle that he was holding.  The painting swung forward, and the two boys stood in amazement. They walked inside, James clutching his cloak, ready to throw it over them if necessary.  They walked into a room that rivaled the size of the Great Hall.  Sirius stuck his nose in the air and breathed deep the aroma of the room. 

            "Excellent, food!" Sirius said, and hundreds of little faces turned to them. 

            "House elves? I didn't know house elves worked here!" James said, and the small creatures made their way towards them.  

            "Who cares who cares who cooks the food, it's wonderful, and it would be even better right now!" Sirius said, grabbing up small cakes that the elves were offering to them.  James watched as his friend starting eating like he hadn't eaten in weeks.  Feeling a tug on his shirt, James looked down to see a house elf holding a tray with different foods on it. 

            "Some food, sir?" The elf squeaked.  James then felt his stomach twist in hunger and then proceeded to help himself. 

            A while later, Sirius and James left the kitchens, pockets and mouths stuffed with food, and they returned to the empty Gryffindor Common Room. 

            "We are definitely going to have to remember that." Sirius said before eating another pastry.  

            "We should make a map." James mused as he rubbed his full stomach. Sirius nodded in agreement, but they quickly forgot about the idea.  

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Classes went by very well for James, Sirius, and Remus.  James, with the coaxing of the other boys, started to relax more, which meant that he pulled more pranks in class.  The boys, especially James and Sirius, were getting more and more points taken away from Gryffindor, which made the other students in their house rather unhappy.  But they also received plenty of points by doing well in class to make up for the lost ones.  The other Gryffindor students quickly learned to leave the pranksters along and let them have some fun. James and Sirius were soon being talked about and admired by other students, after they turned Professor Dumbledore's beard bright orange during the Halloween feast.  They had also started keeping a record of their detentions, deciding to try and break their record every year.   The boys also started to meet other people, and they quickly made many friends.  Although, Peter still followed James around, and James and Sirius were always found together. 

The boys started to notice the almost routine illnesses that befell Remus. James had pointed out to Sirius that Remus always carried spare robes with him when he went to the hospital wing, and, one November night, James stopped and asked him about it. 

            "Hey Remus, why do you always take robes with you when you go to the hospital wing?" James asked, eyeing the very worn robes that Remus had under his arm.  Remus became very pale, and he started to stumble over his words. 

            "I, uh, wear these in ca-, uh, instead of my sch-, robes."  Remus managed to say, and Sirius, who was sitting on a nearby couch reading, looked up at his friend with raised eyebrows. 

            "What?" Sirius asked, and Remus felt his throat go very dry.  He kept trying to say something, anything, but nothing came to mind.  James looked over at Sirius and then back to Remus. 

            "Uh, are you ok, Remus?" James asked, and Remus shook his head.

            "No, I think I need to get to the hospital wing." Remus said, and he ran out of the Common Room. 

            Sirius looked over at James and said, "Do you think he was about to be sick?" 

            "Yeah, that's probably it." James said, and he returned to his homework. 

            Remus stopped running when he reached the hospital wing, and he leaned against a wall panting for breath.  His emotions always seemed to get more and more extreme when the full moon approached, and the questioning by James and Sirius unhinged him completely.  He struggled to get a grip on himself before he walked in to the infirmary, he didn't want Madam Pomfrey to know anything was wrong, or she would bug him until he told her.  Once he had steadied his breathing, he walked in to the hospital wing, and he spotted Madam Pomfrey already wearing her scarlet cloak.  

"Are you ready?" She asked, and Remus nodded. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

After the awkward questioning by James and Sirius, Remus never felt comfortable around them after that, afraid they would learn about his secret.  The other two boys picked up on his behavior, and they were very puzzled as to why he was acting that way.  A few nights later, the four boys were sitting at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room doing there homework.  James looked up from his Charms essay to see Remus busy working on his own. 

"Er, Remus?" James said, and the other boy looked up. 

"Yeah?"

"Uh, Sirius and I found this neat room full of paintings, and we thought you'd like to see them."  James said, careful to exclude the part about finding the kitchen, or else, he feared, Peter would want to go.

"Really, where at?" Remus said slowly, seeing where James was going with this. 

"Oh, it's not hard to get to, you want to see it tonight?" James asked, and Sirius looked at Remus and nodded.

"Yeah, you'll like it." Sirius said.  Remus looked at the two boys who were waiting for his answer.  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and adverted his eyes back to his essay. 

"I don't know, I mean, I have to finish…" Remus muttered, but was interrupted by Sirius.

"Oh, come on Remus! What's going on? You're acting weird, you're avoiding us, and you won't do anything with us anymore.  What happened, did we say anything? Did we do anything to make you mad? Tell us!" Sirius finally asking the questions that he and James were wondering for the past few days.  A couple Gryffindors sitting nearby turned their attention to the boys, making Remus feel more uncomfortable. Sirius and James didn't seem to notice this, and they sat waiting for Remus to tell them something, but, instead, Remus got up and went up the stairs.  Sirius's jaw dropped after Remus left, and James sat back with a sour look on his face. 

"Well that didn't help much." James said. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

Remus was now avoiding the other boys at all costs.  He was deathly afraid that with all of their questions they would be able to work out that he was a werewolf and then tell the whole school.  He had never felt so lonely in his life than he did now.  Before, he had his parents at home, and up until now, he had friends at school, but now he was all alone.  

He sat at breakfast by himself, purposely waiting until the other boys left, so he wouldn't have to sit by him.  The first day he did this, James and Sirius promptly got up, with Peter following behind, and sat by him.  But Remus didn't say anything to the other boys, and they had left him alone ever since then.  Remus hated it, and he wanted to talk to them again, but he knew they would ask questions, and that was what Remus feared.  As he sat at the Gryffindor table, a good distance away from everyone else, he saw someone stop in front of him.  He looked up, expecting to see one of his former friends, but instead he saw a first year girl, with deep red hair, standing in front of him, smiling.  

"H-hi, Lily." Remus said, taken by surprise. 

"Hi Remus, do you mind if we sit here?" Lily asked, and Remus then spotted her two friends standing next to her. 

"No, not at all." He said quietly, and they sat down.  Remus was acquainted with Lily Evans through Sirius, but he had never really talked to her before.  Lily and her friends, Violet and Shelby, were very pretty.  Remus was particularly fond of Shelby, but he had never told anyone about that.  In the corner of Remus's eye, he saw Sirius looking over at them with a curious expression on his face. 

"So, Remus," Lily said, "why aren't you sitting by Sirius and James?" 

"We, uh, had a falling out." Remus said quickly, and Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise.  Shelby shook a stray bit of brown hair out of her face and said, "It had to of been bad, right? You guys are always together." 

"Yeah." Remus said and looked down at his food. He felt his cheeks burn from being acknowledged and actually talked to by Shelby, but also from the questions they were asking him.  Lily and her friends seemed to notice that this wasn't a good topic to continue to question Remus about, so they changed the subject, much to Remus's relief.  At the end of breakfast they walked with Remus to class, much to his surprise. 

~~~~*~~~~

Sirius and James sat in the Common Room, bored and unhappy. It had been weeks now since Remus had stopped talking to them, and they never felt like doing anything without the other boy.  Every time that they would sneak out, they would see something that would remind them of their friend and they would quickly lose interest and return to Gryffindor Tower.  After a while, they stopped sneaking out and instead would just sit in the Common Room, like tonight. 

"Do you think there's something we could do to show how sorry we are?" Sirius suggested.

"The only problem is that we don't know what we did to him." James groaned.  He was beginning to feel angry, because no matter how many times he went over the conversation that had scared Remus away, nothing stood out to him as something that would offend Remus.  James's thoughts were interrupted when the very boy they were discussing walked down the stairs.  He was leaving, again, for the hospital wing, with a bundle of clothes in hand.  He stopped for a moment when he saw Sirius and James, but he continued to walk past them without saying anything. 

"Have you noticed how he always talks to Lily and her friends now?" Sirius said after Remus left the Common Room. James turned back to his friend.

"Yeah, I have. Maybe you can see if Lily will talk to Remus for us." James suggested, but Sirius shook his head.

"I already have. She said that every time she talks about us, he just doesn't say anything." Sirius said. 

They sat there mostly in silence, every once in a while throwing out ideas as to how to get Remus to talk to them again.  Peter, who finally finished his homework, sat by Sirius and they started to play a game of exploding snap.  James, though, continued to brood on what possibly could have angered Remus.  After some time, and many games of exploding snap, the three boys were left in the Common Room by themselves.  James stood up and walked to the window, looking outside as if for an answer. 

"What is it?" James muttered to himself as he gazed at the moon.  The full moon was shining bright over Hogwarts, and James found himself almost squinting at the brightness of the moon. 

"The moon is really bright tonight." James heard Sirius say from right behind him. 

"Yeah." James said.  They stood there looking at the moon for a few minutes, and then James turned and walked away. 

"What am I thinking? The moon isn't going to answer any questions." James said as he fell into his favorite chair.  Sirius turned and leaned against the wall, while Peter had fallen asleep on the couch. 

_'The moon isn't helping me…' _James thought, frustrated, _'I just want my friend back.  Back… he's gone… to the hospital wing. Or has he?' James sat up and looked again out of the window. _'The moon is full, is it always full when he leaves? Is he…?'_  James stopped himself from thinking the question.  It was too serious of a question to think about, so he quickly pushed it from his mind._

_'No, Remus can't be… Or is he? No! It's impossible! Well… there are other ways to find out…'_

~~~~*~~~~

All right! I like that a lot better than the first version.  What do you all think?  Please review and let me know!


	7. Finding out the truth

            A/N – I want to thank everyone who reviewed! This is the most reviews that I've had on a real story, so thank you very, very much. : ) I really don't have much to say, this chapter is a bit transitional, so sorry if it seems a little choppy or anything like that. Sorry it took so long to post this chapter, my three year old nephew has been visiting, but he's gone home today, so I should get more writing done. Anyway, on with the story. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

"Remus, are you all right?" Lily asked the very pale boy as she sat down next to him at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.  Shelby and Violet sat across from them, and the three girls looked at the boy with worry. 

            "I'll be all right. I just caught a bit of a cold."  Remus said quietly, keeping his eyes on his food.  

            "Well, we missed you at breakfast this morning…" Violet started.

            "I was in the hospital wing." Remus answered quickly. The girls looked at each other, uncertain of what to say next. Just then, James, Sirius, and Peter walked up and stopped in front of Remus, who reluctantly looked up at them.  

            "Hey Remus!" James said, as if nothing had been wrong. 

            "Hello." Remus said quietly.

            "I forgot that I owed you some money from the last quidditch game." James said and pulled some change from his pocket.  He held it out for Remus to take, who eyed James's hand suspiciously. 

            "You owed me money?" Remus asked.

            "Yeah, don't you remember?" James said with a grin.

            "It's not a dungbomb, is it?" Remus asked.

            "Now why would I give you a dungbomb?" James asked, pretending to be hurt by Remus's comment.  Remus slowly put his hand out to take the money, and James dropped a handful of silver sickles in Remus's hand.  Remus cried out when the silver coins hit his skin, and he quickly dumped the change onto the table.  Everyone looked at Remus in surprise, except for James who held a closed look on his face.  Remus jumped up, and, in a panic, ran from the Great Hall. The look on Lily's face turned from one of concern to one of anger, and she spun around to face James and his friends.

            "Was that some kind of joke?" Lily demanded, her green eyes flashing.  

            "No," James said calmly, "it was just a test."  

            "A test? What are you playing at, Potter?" Lily said and stood up. 

            "Whoa, Lily…" Sirius started, but was cut off by the red headed girl. 

            "That poor boy has been so sad lately because of you three, and now you pull something like this on him?  What kind of friends are you?" She then turned and left the Great Hall to find Remus.  James just looked at Sirius and Peter in shock. 

            "I didn't know they were so close now." James said which gained him a reproving look from her friends.  

            "James, Sirius, Peter, why don't you sit down." Violet suggested.  Sirius and James checked to make sure none of the professors were looking, and they quickly jumped over the table and sat down on the other side. Peter, who felt better to not jump, sat down next to Shelby.  

            "James, what's going on?" Violet asked.  

            "Nothing." He replied.  Violet sighed and turned to Sirius. 

            "Sirius?" She asked, but the other boy only shrugged. 

            "Peter?" Violet and Shelby turned to Peter, who looked very uncomfortable being stared down by the two girls. 

            "Uh…" Peter started.

            "Nothing." James said a little louder, cutting Peter off. 

            "Look, James," Shelby said, turning to him, "I don't know everything that's going on with you guys and Remus, but it's obvious that he wants to talk to you guys again.  So what are you doing to him?" 

            "What do you mean, what are _we_ doing to _him?" Sirius asked.  Shelby looked at him and glared. _

            "Exactly what I mean. Remus is a nice guy, he doesn't deserve to be isolated by you three like you have been." 

            "We haven't been isolating him!" James said. 

            "We've been trying to _talk_ to him!" Sirius added. The two girls looked at the two boys, and then they turned to Peter. 

            "Peter, maybe you can…" 

            "Leave Peter out of this." Sirius cut Violet off.  The two girls turned to Sirius and glared at him, but Peter looked shocked. 

            "I can speak for myself, you know." Peter said.

            "No, that's not what I meant." Sirius said, but Peter had already stood up to leave. 

            "Peter!" James called after the shorter boy, who was leaving the Great Hall. 

            "Oh, wonderful." Sirius sighed as he and James stood up to follow Peter.  

            "Excuse us." James mumbled, and the two girls shook their heads. 

            "They are awful." Violet stated.

            ~~~~*~~~~

            James and Sirius didn't have time to deal with Peter before they had to go to class, and all through Transfiguration, Remus, Peter, Lily, and her friends all glared at the two boys.  This unnerved the two so much that Professor McGonagall picked up on their odd behavior. 

            "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, would you please pay attention?" She said sharply to him. 

            The rest of the day didn't get any better when Professor Flitwick commented on the poor state of Sirius's charms in class. But James did notice how Remus kept his hand closed tightly, and when their classes were finished for the day, James pulled Sirius aside. 

            "I think I know why Remus is always getting sick."  James said, but Sirius just snorted. 

            "I'm not really concerned about that right now, how about you find out what his problem is." Sirius said.

            "Shut up, this has to deal with that too." James explained, and Sirius nodded. 

            "Okay, go on." 

            "I think Remus is a werewolf." James said, almost in a whisper. 

            "What?!" Sirius shouted, and James clamped a hand down on Sirius's mouth.

            "Shut up, this is serious! And don't make any jokes." James warned and put his hand down.  Sirius grinned for a second, but then remembered what James had just said.

            "Alright," Sirius said, quietly, "but what are your reasons?" 

            "He's always gotten sick on the full moon." James said.

            "You've been keeping track of this?" Sirius asked, and he got a punch in the arm. 

            "Will you let me finish? Plus, all those coins I dropped in his hand were sickles. Silver sickles.  Werewolves can't touch silver." James explained, and Sirius frowned as he thought it over. 

            "It would make sense. Do you think that's why he's been so cranky with us?" Sirius asked, and James nodded. 

            "I think so. We just need to explain to him that we know about it, and we still want to be his friend.  He's probably afraid that we'll find out and tell everyone." James said.

            "Yeah, we'll do that tonight, but first, we need to find Peter."  Sirius said, and the two left to look for their friend. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            They found Peter on their way back to Gryffindor Tower.  It took some coaxing, but the small boy eventually listened to them, and forgave Sirius for what he said.  But every once in a while, Sirius would catch Peter looking at him in a very dark, funny way, but the other boy just shook it off and forgot about it.  

            James was the one to tell Peter about Remus, and the small boy was shocked, to say the least.  He refused to have anything to do with a werewolf, and when he said this, he said it a little too loudly for the other boys' liking.

            "Hush!" Sirius said, and he sat Peter down in a chair in a far corner of the common room. 

            "Peter, please, listen. We've known Remus all this time, and we didn't have a problem with his condition. If you're not going to talk to him anymore, then don't bother with us, because Remus is still our friend.  So what do you say?" James said. Peter looked at James for a long time, but he finally nodded.  Sirius noticed how Peter seemed to take everything James said as truth, and he was glad now that Peter was still doing that.  

            "Ok, so we're going to talk to Remus tonight…" Sirius said, and they started to plan what they were going to say. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The three boys waited, somewhat apprehensively, in the common room for Remus.  They would all look up when the portrait hole would open, but so far, they were always disappointed. 

            "Maybe he's in the library." Sirius suggested. 

            "Or the hospital wing." Peter said, but James just sat and watched the portrait hole in silence.  The next person to walk in wasn't Remus, but James had also been waiting for them.

            "Lily, come here a second." James said when he spotted the short, red head, and he stood up and walked a few paces away from the other two.  Lily stopped and looked as if she was contemplating whether to talk to James or not, but she eventually walked over to where he stood. 

            "Yes?"

            "Can I talk to you about Remus?" James asked, and Lily bit her lip as she thought it over. 

            "What would you like to know?" She asked in reply. 

            "Well, this morning, after he left the Great Hall, did you get to talk to him?" James asked.

            "Yes." Lily said, and James waited for her to continue. Lily took a deep breath and then looked up at James. 

            "There's something about Remus that you don't know." Lily said. 

            "Go on." James said, but Lily shook her head.

            "I'm not supposed to tell you." 

            "Well, I think that I may know what you're talking about." James said, and Lily's eyes opened wide. 

            "You do?" She asked, and James nodded. 

            "Did it have to do with his hand?" He asked, and Lily slowly nodded in reply. 

            "That's why I did it. I didn't want to, but how else was I to be sure?" James explained, and Lily nodded in understanding. 

            "It makes sense now, at the time, I thought you were being cruel." 

            "Yeah, sorry about that." James said, and Lily smiled at him. 

            "Well, I'm glad that's all cleared up, I just hope Remus will understand." Lily said.

            "So he told you?" James asked, just remembering their previous subject.

            "Yes, he really didn't want to, but I saw his hand…" Lily said, but stopped when she looked over and saw who had walked through the portrait hole.  

            "Um, excuse me, I have one person left to talk to." James said and started to return to Sirius and Peter, who had stopped Remus.  James then turned back around to Lily. 

            "Hey, thank you, Lily, I appreciate all of your help." James said, and Lily smiled. 

            "No problem, go talk to Remus." She said. James flashed a quick smile at her before joining his friends who were now facing Remus.  

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Well, it sounds like we're going to war.  : ( Oh well, anyway, please let me know what you think of the story! Thanks for reading!


	8. Reconciles

Goodness it's been a long time since I've updated. I sincerely apologize to those who waited for this chapter. I also apologize because this chapter is shorter than the others, but I have had almost no time to write.  That plus the bit of writer's block that hit me caused the delay for this chapter, and I am truly sorry. But, on a happier note, I want to thank everyone who reviewed! Flyingphilosopher, thank you for your constructive criticism. I've been trying to make the characters not so flat, and I'm glad to see that whatever I'm doing is working. : )  Padfoot4ever, Potterfan18, and ladida, thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoy the story. Ciria, my faithful reviewer! : ) I didn't quite understand what you meant about Lily. I'm afraid she's very flat in this chapter, but that will change, hopefully soon. As for her friends, they didn't understand what the guys were doing to Remus; they were just trying to look out for him. I hope they didn't come across as being mean or anything, because I don't intend them to be that way. At least, not all the time... : )   

Anyway, on to the story, please remember to review! Thanks for reading!         

            ~~~~*~~~~

"Hey, Remus!" 

            The pale boy turned and looked at Sirius, who had called his name. Remus clenched his jaw in frustration and walked over to where Sirius and Peter were sitting. He quickly noticed James wasn't there, but was talking to Lily a few paces behind the other two boys.  Sirius motioned for Remus to sit, and the smaller boy did.  

            "Yes?" Remus asked, a little uncertain as to what the boys were going to do.  James walked up to them and he sat in between Remus and Sirius, forming a small circle.  

            "Remus…" James started; his eyes flickered over to Sirius and Peter before continuing, "we know what you are." At these words, Remus jumped up and started to back away, but Sirius and Peter were ready, and they too jumped up and stopped Remus from going any farther. 

            _'They must have practiced this.' Remus thought to himself.  In another time, it may have amused him, but now, he was afraid as to what they were going to do next. _

            _'Are they going to announce it to everyone in here?' Remus thought, and he started to struggle against Sirius and Peter's grasp. Sirius tightened his grip on the other boy's arm, he hadn't realized just how strong Remus was.  _

            "Let me go!" Remus shouted.  James looked around and noticed that other people in the common room were starting to watch what was going on.  

            "Remus, be quiet!" James said, and Remus felt himself being pushed back into the chair he had been sitting in. 

            "We still want to be your friends!" Sirius said, but Remus didn't seem to hear him, and he continued to struggle. 

            "Remus, stop!" Peter said, struggling to keep Remus from getting up again.  

            "Remus, listen to us, we're still your friends!" James said, emphasizing the last phrase to catch Remus's attention. Finally hearing what the other three were saying, Remus stopped fighting, and he slowly looked up at them.  

            "W-what?" Remus asked, still trying to grasp what he heard. 

            "We are still your friends." James said slowly to the boy who was looking up at them with wide open and frightened eyes. Sirius and Peter backed away from Remus, but were still ready to seize him if necessary.  Remus sat in silence for a moment, and the three boys sat back down.  The other people in the common room eventually lost interest in what was going on, and they returned to their business.  James looked at Sirius and Peter, and all three were waiting anxiously for what their friend was going to say.  After a few moments, Remus looked at the other boys, and he slowly shook his head. 

            "No, you must not know.  Not really."  Remus said quietly, almost to himself.  

            "Remus, we _do know.  We know what happens to you on the full moons." James said, lowering his voice.  Remus's eyes opened wide, and he looked at James in shock._

            _'They do__ know, but they still want to be my friends?'_

"But, how?" Remus asked. Sirius and Peter turned to James, since he was the one who had told them about it in the first place. Remus followed their gaze and looked at James. He then remembered that he saw James talking to Lily when he had entered the Common Room. 

            "It was Lily, wasn't it?" Remus suddenly demanded before James could speak.  "I knew I shouldn't have told her!"

            "No! It wasn't her, Remus." James said, and Remus looked at him with uncertain eyes.  

            "So, you just figured it out then?" Remus said, his words sounding harsher than he intended.  James slowly nodded his head, and Remus looked down at the floor.

            "But… how?" Remus repeated his question.  

            "How about we go up to the dorm? We can talk more about this in private." Sirius suggested before James could answer, and the four boys quietly followed each other up the steps to their room. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The next day, Lily and her friends arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast to see Remus sitting with his friends again, laughing at their jokes, and looking truly happy.  Violet and Shelby noticed this as well, and they turned to Lily after they sat down at the Gryffindor table.  

            "So Remus is all right with his friends now?" Shelby asked.  Lily smiled and nodded.

            "Yeah, they all managed to sit down and work everything out last night." Lily explained, leaving out any details about Remus's condition.  She remembered the look of fear on his face when she had spotted the burn-like marks on his hand.  He had begged her to keep his condition a secret, and Lily figured that she would never forget the look of absolute desperation in his eyes.  She had promised to keep Remus's secret, and so she did, not even telling her closest friends. Of course, she probably wouldn't have told them either way. Shelby would have probably accepted Remus the same way Lily had, but Violet was different from Lily and Shelby.  Violet, who was named after the shocking color of her eyes, was friendly enough, but she didn't always get along with the two other girls on certain occasions.  Even in the first few months of school, Violet had a few arguments with Lily and Shelby, who had learned to try and not disagree with Violet.  For the most part, though, the three girls got along very well, but Lily stuck by her promise to Remus. 

            Now, she was glad to see the four boys once again sitting together, goofing off, and laughing. Although, she couldn't help but feel sad that Remus would not be spending his time with them. She had enjoyed his conversations, and he had even suggested teaching her how to play chess, which Lily was really looking forward to. 

            "Well, that's good, but I'm going to miss Remus." Shelby said, echoing Lily's thoughts.  

            "Yes, well, it's all for the best, right?" Lily said before taking a bite out of her breakfast. Their conversation strayed into different topics as they finished their breakfast and headed off to class. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            As the Gryffindor first years waited for their constantly-late Potions teacher, Remus approached Lily who was leaning against the wall.  

            "Hello, Remus." Lily smiled up at the boy.  

            "Hi Lily… I just wanted to thank you for, erm, you know." Remus said quietly, and Lily nodded in reply. 

            "It was no problem Remus, I'm glad to see you back on good terms with the other boys." She said, looking over at James and Sirius, who were levitating little, pink flowers, and placing them in Snape's hair.  

            "Yeah, I didn't realize how much fun it was being around them until…" Remus stopped, and his face suddenly turned a bright shade of red.  "I mean, uh, not that you and your friends weren't, it's just, erm…" Remus stammered, staring at the floor.  Lily could help but laugh, and Remus slowly looked back at her with a shy grin on his face. 

            "Sorry." He said.

            "Oh, no, don't bother, Remus, I understand.  I won't pretend to be a Sirius Black or a James Potter. Compared to them, I must be as exciting as a flobberworm."  Lily said, still laughing. Remus started laughing a little as well, and his face returned to its normal color. 

            "Hey, Remus! Come here!" Sirius called with difficulty, as he and James were laughing particularly hard about something. Remus turned back to Lily and smiled. 

            "Thanks again, Lily." He said, and then he turned back to Lily and added, "Do you still want to learn how to play chess?" 

            Lily smiled and nodded in reply, she hadn't lost her friend after all.

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Ok, ok, it's a little cheesy at the end, but, anyway, please tell me what you think! I love reviews, you have no idea how much they help. Hopefully the next chapter will come a lot quicker. Sorry again for the delay. 


	9. Great misfortunes

            A/N – I was kind of bummed, I have to admit, for only getting 3 reviews for that last chapter. Is anyone reading this anymore? Anyway, thank you to Hyperly Mad, Rena Lupin, and Potterfan18.  I really, really, really appreciate you guys taking time to review my story.  I love you guys!!! : )  Anyway, on to the story… 

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The Christmas holidays were just a few days away, and it seemed, to the four boys, that time had slowed down, and the days had become longer.  History of Magic was almost unbearable for the boys. Professor Binns, the ghost of a professor who taught the class, took no notice of the fact that he was almost torturing his class.  Peter had fallen asleep and was leaving a big puddle of drool on the desk.  James stared out of the window, his mind on the presents he was going to receive.  Sirius kept checking his watch every other minute, and Remus, who was getting annoyed with Sirius, just buried his head in his arms, giving up on trying to pay attention.  

            "My watch is broken!" Sirius whined quietly as he flicked the face of the watch. "I checked it fifteen minutes ago, but it says it's only been two!"  Remus gave Sirius a muffled 'shut up' before falling asleep. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            The four boys got up from the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall after finishing their lunch.  As they were walking through the door, they ran into a first year Slytherin, who sneered down on them.

            "Why, hello Snape! Haven't had a chance to talk with you lately, how have you been?" Sirius exclaimed, and the others grinned. 

            "I was much better just a moment ago, if you must know." Severus replied, and he shoved pass James and Sirius, making sure to 'bump' James in a rough fashion as he passed.  James turned around and scowled at Snape's back and he yelled after the Slytherin.

            "You know, Snape, there are showers at Hogwarts, did you know?" The other three boys started to laugh, and Snape turned around sharply and glared at them.

            "I think you two should get more acquainted." James added with a small grin on his face. 

            "Or maybe, horror of horrors, actually USE one!" Sirius said dramatically, and the four boys started laughing harder.  Snape glared at them, his face reddening, and his hands balled into fists, but he said nothing. 

            "Just some friendly advice!" James said with a smile and a wave before the group left. 

            Once they reached the common room, the boys started laughing again, remembering the look on the Slytherin's face.  

            "That was a good way to go before Christmas break, don't you think?" James said to Sirius, who could only nod in response, as he was still laughing.  

            "Oh no, what have you all done now?" A voice asked from behind.  The boys turned to see Lily walk up with a feigned look of fear on her face. 

            "Whatever do you mean?" Sirius asked with a big grin stuck on his face. 

            "Well, when you all are laughing like this, that means you must have done something. A prank?" She asked as she sat down across from them. 

            "Nope, just a little run-in with our favorite Slytherin." James said brightly. Lily narrowed her eyes while trying to think of who they were talking about.

            "Severus?" She asked. 

            "No, Snape." Sirius corrected her, and she raised a curious eyebrow in response. They then proceeded to tell her what happened, but, instead of laughing, like they figured she would, she only shook her head.

            "James, Sirius that was mean." She said, serious. The boys exchanged shocked looks, before looking back at Lily, who still hadn't laughed yet. 

            "What? That wasn't mean! We were provoked!" Sirius exclaimed, and the others nodded their heads.  Lily continued to look skeptical at them, causing James to put his hands up and ask her why she was looking at them that way. 

            "Why are you all so mean to him?" Lily asked.

            "Because he's a git, and he deserves it." Sirius said.

            "And he smells bad." James added.

            "And he's better than you in Potions." Lily stated, giving James a very pointed look. 

            "Well, not for long." James replied with a frown.  Lily just sighed and slumped back in her chair.

            "Fine, fine, I'll let you all hate whomever you want, I guess." She said, and Sirius smiled at her.

            "Thank you, Ever-Accepting-Lily." Sirius said, giving her a small bow. Lily shook her head and turned to Remus, who had watched this small argument with an amused look on his face.

            "Want to play chess, Remus?" Lily asked.

            "Sure." He said with a smile.  James watched the two as they got up from the table and walked over to where Remus's chessboard was still set up, and he shook his head. 

            "I can't believe she just defended Snape." He muttered, and Sirius snorted.

            "She wasn't defending him, she just doesn't like it when people are mean to each other." Sirius said, and Peter looked at him, puzzled.

            "That sounded like she was defending him to me." Peter said.

            "Nope, not Snape, she hates him." Sirius said simply, leaning back in his chair. 

            "Then why…?" James started, but Sirius waved him off.

            "She told me the other day in Potions when we were paired up together.  Snape was being arrogant like he always is, and she told me that she couldn't stand him." Sirius explained to the other two, who looked at each other, confused. 

            "She's just a nice person, that's it.  She doesn't have to like everybody, but she doesn't like people being mean and everything." Sirius added, and James shrugged.

            "I guess, after all, she knows about Remus and doesn't care." James said, but Sirius and Peter jumped at his words.

            "What?!" Sirius yelled in shock. 

            "Sirius, keep it down!" Another first year called to him, and he slowly sat down in his chair, but he kept his eyes on James.

            "Your turn to explain." Sirius said quietly.

            "Lily was the one who ran after Remus that day in the Great Hall remember? That's when she found out." James said, calmly. 

            "Has she told anyone?" Sirius demanded, looking at James intently. 

            "No! Think about what you just told us.  She accepts people rather well, and she keeps secrets." James said, and Sirius began to relax a little. 

            "She seems a little _too_ accepting." Peter muttered to himself, but the others heard. 

            "Yeah," Sirius said, rather subdued, "but I don't think she gets it really.  She's muggle born, so she probably doesn't understand why people are frightened of… those like Remus."  They all sat in silence for a moment, thinking about that curious red headed girl who was so nice, and accepting, it was almost weird. 

            "Maybe there's more to her though, there has to be something that ruffles her feathers." James said, eyeing the first year girl laughing at Remus, who had just lost a knight. 

            "Yeah, or she wouldn't be human." Sirius said with a small grin.  

            "Let's find out what it is, she's intriguing." James said, the last part a bit quieter than the first.

            ~~~~*~~~~

            Sirius sighed in relief as he and his friends left the Potions classroom, free of school and work for a week. All four of the boys were going home for Christmas, and they were excited about the holidays and the presents, as well as seeing their families. 

            "It's Christmas time!" Sirius yelled happily, and the others followed suit.  Laughing, they continued their celebrations as they walked to the Gryffindor common room.  The boys were so caught up in what they were doing, they didn't notice that Snape walked right by them shortly after they had left the classroom. Even Peter didn't notice that the Slytherin had bumped into to him. Normally, James would tell Snape off for doing that, while Remus would keep Sirius from getting into a fight.  Sirius, who had declared that he would no longer tolerate Snape's actions, began looking for a reason to start a fight with the Slytherin.  

            They reached the common room, and they happily sat themselves down at a table to play exploding snap, chess, and just joke around with each other until dinner time.  While they were in the middle of a game, Peter reached down into his bag to pull out a quill to keep a score of the game with.  James looked up in shock as a loud bang sounded through the common room.  A small cloud, tinted with green, was rising up in the air.  Peter, who had been hit full in the face with the gas, immediately fell on the floor, unconscious. 

            "Peter!" Remus shouted, jumping up from his chair.  Sirius, too, bent over Peter, but both he and Remus began to stumble and trip over themselves before falling to the ground.  James tore his eyes away from the cloud, which was now spreading throughout the room like a growing rain cloud, and he looked at his three friends lying on the ground.  

            _'I've got to get out of here and get a teacher.'_ James thought, but his vision became blurred, and his thoughts jumbled.  He tried to stand up and run for the portrait hole, but his legs seemed to forget how to work properly, and he, like his friends, stumbled and fell.  This scene was happening all over the common room.  Some students ran for their dorm, others to the portrait hole, but in both cases, few made it away.  The cloud of gas grew until it was the size of the ceiling, and it settled there, turning to a dark black color.  James fought to open his eyes and move his body, but it seemed as if he were tied down to that one spot.  

            _'I've got to move… get help… get out of here…' _ But his thoughts were silenced as he drifted away into unconsciousness 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            All right you guys, please, _please, PLEASE review! They are very motivating, and they let me know if my story is even being read. So… pretty please? _


	10. The Accused

A/N – Hm, the review amount gets lower with every chapter. : (  That's a bit disheartening.  But I am glad to know that at least 2 people are still reading my story.  So a big, huge thanks goes out to Kats and Avid reader (cool name, btw!).  This chapter is for them since they're still reading. : ) Thanks you guys!  I'm also curious as to what happened to Ciria? You've disappeared on me!  Anyway, _please review!  Now, on with the chapter._

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James woke with a start, but his eyes wouldn't seem to focus.  A hand immediately went to his eyes, feeling for his glasses, which weren't there.  He looked around as best as he could, and he spotted the blurry outline of his glasses, which were resting on a table next to him.  He reached over and put them on, the room flooding into focus.  Blinking, to help his eyes adjust, he saw that he was in the hospital wing, and he was surrounded by fellow Gryffindor students. Looking at the bed on his right, he saw his best friend, Sirius Black, who looked to be asleep, and on James's left side was Peter Pettigrew, who was also asleep. James continued to look around him, and he tried to figure out what had happened to him to land him and his friends into the hospital wing. 

            At that moment, Madam Pomfrey approached him and handed him a goblet full of a foul-smelling potion. She didn't say anything to him, which seemed a little odd, but what puzzled him even more was why he was there in the first place. Right as Madam Pomfrey turned to leave and tend to another student, James cleared his throat to get her attention.

            "Uh, Madam Pomfrey?" The witch turned to look at him with a closed look about her face. 

            "Yes, Mr. Potter?" 

            "Erm, why am I here?" James asked.  The medical witch opened her mouth, as if to say something, but she closed it. After a brief moment she said, "Well, Mr. Potter, I believe you should know why you're here." James knitted his eyebrows in confusion, but before he could ask anymore questions, Madam Pomfrey turned and walked off.  James slumped back against the pillows of his bed, and he concentrated on trying to figure out what had happened. The last thing that he could remember was playing Exploding Snap with his friends, and then his memory went fuzzy. 

            James spent the rest of the day lying in the hospital wing.  A few other Gryffindors had woken up since James had, but they had gone back to sleep.  Sleep, it seemed, was avoiding James, so he spent the day thinking and theorizing as to what had happened, but he still didn't have the slightest idea.  As the night approached, James received his first visitor, but it was not a welcome one.  He watched as Professor McGonagall walked into the hospital wing and headed toward James's bed. 

            "Mr. Potter." She greeted him, but it wasn't the type of greeting that he had hoped to hear. 

            "Hello Professor." James replied in a very quiet voice. 

            "How are you feeling, Potter?" McGonagall asked, but her voice didn't seem to carry any sign of concern. 

            "Well, I suppose."  James said, becoming curious as to why the Head of Gryffindor house was there. 

            "Are you? Then if you would please get dressed." Professor McGonagall said, pointing toward the neat pile that was his school robes.  James got out of bed, and closed the curtain while he changed.  When he emerged from the curtains, dressed in his Hogwarts uniform, he saw Professor McGonagall waiting for him with a stern look on her face. 

            "Mr. Potter, if you would please follow me." She said then turned and left the hospital wing. James followed behind her with a feeling of growing dread at the bottom of his stomach.  He followed her as she walked down a long corridor and stopped in front of a statue of a gargoyle. James, who was busy wondering where they were going, missed the password that McGonagall had said to cause the gargoyle to spring aside.  He followed his teacher up the staircase and stopped behind her when she had reached the door at the top of the stair. She knocked once on the door before opening it to reveal Professor Dumbledore's office.  She stopped at the door and motioned for James to walk in ahead of her, which he did, and he approached Professor Dumbledore's desk, where the Headmaster was waiting. 

            "Please, have a seat, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said in a kind, but commanding voice. James sat in one of the chairs, and he watched as Professor McGonagall moved to stand beside Dumbledore. 

            "James, I must say that very unfortunate circumstances bring you to my office." Dumbledore said, that friendly twinkle usually found in his eyes was no longer there, and his face wore a serious expression. 

            "I don't know what's going on, Sir." James said quietly. 

            "It seems that earlier this afternoon, many people in the Gryffindor common room fell unconscious for an unknown reason." Dumbledore explained.  Images popped into James's mind, but he couldn't place what was going on in any of them.  Although, he knew now that what Dumbledore was talking about was why he couldn't remember much.

            "If you would, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, bring James back, "tell us what you did to render these students unconscious." 

            "What?" James almost shouted after a short moment of shocked surprise. "You think I did it?"  Dumbledore exchanged a quick glance with McGonagall before saying, "Would you care to explain, Minerva?" Professor McGonagall gave a short nod before turning back to James. 

            "Shortly after class was over for the day, a Gryffindor student came running into my office telling me that you had set off something and it was knocking everyone out." McGonagall explained, and James's jaw dropped. 

            "Me?! W-why would they think it was me?" James felt his heart rate go up in a slight panic.  

            _'If they think it's me, they might expel me. My parents would kill me.' James thought. _

            "Apparently, when your friends were trying to help Mr. Pettigrew, you, instead, bolted for the portrait hole." 

            "I was trying to go get help! I saw everyone passing out, so I tried to… You have to believe me!" James pleaded. Dumbledore looked at him with a searching gaze, the kind that seemed to go straight through a person. 

            "Professor, please…" James looked at the Headmaster, who finally looked away and shook his head. 

            "He is innocent, Minerva." Dumbledore said, and McGonagall looked at him sharply. 

            "Are you sure, Albus?" 

            "Yes.  Mr. Potter, you are free to go and pack." Dumbledore said, and James thanked him and left before either could find another reason for him to stay.  After the door closed behind the young Gryffindor, McGonagall sighed. 

            "Well, if not him, then who?" She asked, turning to Dumbledore who only shook his head. 

            ~~~~*~~~~

            James returned to the Gryffindor common room to find it clear of any clouds of smoke and students once again sitting in various places.  James didn't see Sirius, Remus, or Peter anywhere, so he figured that they were still in the hospital wing.  One thing that James did see were the wary glances that everyone else was now giving him.  Frustration, weariness suddenly seemed to build up inside of him, causing him to loose his patience.

            "I didn't do anything! Ok?"  James shouted so everyone could hear.  The students lowered their eyes, but he could still see some giving him worried glances.  He sighed to himself, wishing that he could leave the school tonight, before heading toward the staircase to his room. 

            "James!" He turned at the sound of his name, and he spotted Lily sitting with her friends, motioning him over.  He slowly walked towards them, taking time to glare at everyone else, and he sat down in a chair next to Lily. 

            "Hi." He said, staring at the floor. 

            "James, what was all that about? What's wrong?" Lily asked. 

            "Is it about what happened earlier?" Violet asked, and James looked up at the girls. 

            "Yeah, I guess, but it's not really about me." James said, and then raised his voice so that others could hear him, "Everyone thinks I did it, but it wasn't me." 

            "James," Lily said, bringing him back to their conversation, "what are you talking about?" James slumped back in his chair and told them everything about the cloud of gas (that he could remember, anyway), and how everyone now suspects him.  

            "So, hang on a minute, you were playing exploding snap with your friends after class, right?" Shelby asked, and James nodded. 

            "And then this cloud of something appears and starts to knock people out?" 

            "Yeah." James said.  The three girls looked at each other with puzzled expressions. 

            "That really doesn't make sense." Violet stated.  

            "I know, I really wasn't paying attention to what people were doing at the time." James said. 

            "Well, someone obviously set something off in the common room." Violet said sarcastically. 

            "I know that." James replied harshly. Lily gave James a look to tell him to back off, while Shelby did the same to Violet. 

            "Let's try to figure this out, in a friendly manner." Lily said, and they began discussing who may have done it.  After an hour or so, Sirius and Remus walked into the common room, and sat down next to James. 

            "My head hurts." Sirius whined, as he laid his head on the table.

            "Then why aren't you in the hospital wing?" Shelby asked, and Sirius turned to her with a shocked look on his face.

            "Stay in there and not go home for the holidays? I can't believe you just said that."  Sirius said before putting his head back down on the table. 

            "Where's Peter?" James asked.

            "Still in the hospital wing, he's still unconscious." Remus said, who was rubbing his head to help relieve a headache. 

            "We're trying to figure out who set that thing off in the common room." Lily said. 

            "Everyone thinks it was James." Shelby added. 

            "No, it wasn't him, it came from Peter's bag." Remus said, his eyes closed. 

            "What?!" The girls almost shouted causing Sirius and Remus to wince. 

            "It did?" James asked. 

            "Yeah, I was watching him as he got his quill out of his bag." Remus explained, now rubbing his temples. 

            "Huh." James said, and the girls seemed to go deep into thought over this revelation. 

            "I hope I don't insult anyone by going to bed." Remus said and slowly got up from his chair.  

"Sirius, you going to stay?" Remus asked.  A muffled response came from the other boy who had his head buried in his arms. Shrugging, Remus headed for the stairs. 

"Goodnight, Remus." James said and received a wave in reply. 

~~~~*~~~~

A few hours later, the group of Gryffindor first years were still sitting at the same table while other students were scattered around the common room. Sirius had fallen asleep shortly after Remus had gone up to bed, but no one felt like waking him.  Instead, James talked with Lily and her friends, about various things.  They had stopped their investigation over the events that had occurred in the common room when they realized that they weren't getting anywhere, and the conversation had drifted between different topics.  

James hadn't realized how little he knew about the three girls that he had known for a few months.  He learned all about the girls' past and their families.  He heard about Shelby's pet dog that she missed, Violet's passion for reading, and Lily's favorite pastime of drawing. In turn, James told them about his family, how he wanted to be on the Quidditch team (which Shelby did as well), and how he wanted to throw Snape out of a window.  They would have sat there longer to continue talking, but one of the fifth year prefects announced that the first and second years needed to get to bed.  James shook Sirius awake, who blindly stood up, mumbled a 'goodnight', and wandered towards the staircase, bumping into many things.  James smiled and turned to see the girls laughing.

"Well ladies, I thank you for the pleasant conversation." James said, and he immediately wondered why he was talking like that. 

"You are very welcome, Mr. Potter." Lily said with a grin, and the other two laughed.  James smiled as well, realizing that she was mocking him, but in a friendly way. 

"Goodnight." He said and headed for the staircase to the boys' dorm. 

"Goodnight." The girls chorused and left. 

~~~~*~~~~

What do you all think?  Just to let everyone know, I will continue to write and post chapters to this story as long as people are reading it (as few as that number may be…).  So, once I stop getting reviews, I will probably stop posting chapters, so if you're reading please let me know.  I enjoy writing this, but there really isn't a point in my updating this if no one is reading it.  So, you know what to do… 


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